Yes, Emmanuel Sanders remembers that play.
But the former 49ers, Broncos, Saints and Bills player — he retired last month and joined NFL Network — says that infamous Jimmy Garoppolo overthrow in Super Bowl LIV doesn’t bother him the same way it haunts some fans.
Sanders joined Papa & Lund on Thursday to discuss all things 49ers and was asked about the moment. He recalled what we was thinking before the play.
“When I went to San Fran I knew in tight games Kyle was going to come to me because that’s why he brought me there,” Sanders said. “A veteran presence that’s been there, played in big games. When the call came in I was all for it. I saw outside technique of the corner, I’m like, ‘I’m about to get on this dude’s toes, I’m gonna step on his toes and run as fast as I can.’
“Obviously I did that and I saw the ball in the air and right when the ball was released I knew it was overthrown, but I tried to put it in fifth gear, sixth gear and at least try to make an attempt to go get it.”
Despite that, and the anguish of losing a Super Bowl, it doesn’t linger with Sanders.
He doesn’t pin the loss on that one play, recalling that the 49ers were up by 11 with about eight minutes left.
“It’s one of those things that I feel like a lot of people still think about, but for me, I don’t think about it too much,” Sanders said. “Because at the end of the day some people say it came down to just that throw, but it didn’t come down to that throw.
“When you look at Deebo [Samuel], when you look at Jimmy, when you look at George [Kittle], when you look at Kyle [Shanahan], when you look at Nick [Bosa], when you look at everybody on that team, everybody can sit back and look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Damn, if I would have made this play or did this or did that… it would have never come down to that.’”
Sanders believes the whole team blew it and said he’ll always defend Garoppolo, saying he’s a “winner.” He also wonders if he would have been better off sticking around with the 49ers rather than joining the Saints.
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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